GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — If someone decides to become a politician in Palestine, especially in the Gaza Strip, they cannot run for the parliamentary elections nor can they run for the presidential elections. Elections have been stalled for the past 10 years. Politicians in Gaza can only propose initiatives and suggestions to resolve the political and social crises.

One way or another, political action in Gaza has turned into an activity related to everyday problems, such as launching initiatives to solve issues like the electricity crisis, the Rafah border crossing and the payment of the salaries of government employees. These initiatives are sometimes even aimed at pushing forward the reconciliation process between Fatah and Hamas.

Political parties in the Gaza Strip have launched a number of initiatives since December 2013. There are about 14 initiatives by Palestinian political parties and figures, including four proposed by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), two by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, one by the Palestinian People's Party, two by all the Palestinian factions except for Hamas and Fatah, two by independents and three others by other Palestinian figures.

Hamas leader Ahmed Youssef told Al-Monitor, “There are too many initiatives provided by the factions as there is no unified national vision and there is no consensus on the political level. This is why each faction claims they have the solution to save [Gaza], but at the end of the day, they are merely initiatives to strengthen their political presence.”